Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Farewell to "the Family"

So your narrator might be enjoying a couple days here in the heart of Badger Country, but my mind and heart are never far from the East, from home. (And from the Boss, of course.)

Last week's bit on the Humanitas-as-weapon cameo in Episode 2 of the final run of The Sopranos really got me thinking... and not just of the Paulists who award the annual prizes. Luckily, the good Fathers have offered their stage to explain my clan's affinity for the legendary-in-its-own-time HBO mob drama, so for those who haven't yet seen it, "Almost Holy" has made a return cameo of its own over at BustedHalo.

(And some related "six degrees of hierarchy" trivia: the brother of Tony Sirico -- known to the world as "Paulie Walnuts" -- is none other than Fr Bob Sirico, known to many as president of the Acton Institute.)

On a final note, some have been so kind to ask what happened to the column over the last couple months. To quote BH editor-in-chief/rockstar/award-winning panel moderator, Bill McGarvey the short answer is that I've become "allergic to deadlines." Honestly, it isn't so much that I've become, but the symptoms have gotten out of control of late.

Unfortunately, they haven't come up with a shot to cure that yet... unless you count shots of espresso. And one can only have so many of those... a lesson I learned the hard way.

About Me

One of global Catholicism's most prominent chroniclers, Rocco Palmo has held court as the "Church Whisperer" since 2004, when the pages you're reading were launched with an audience of three, grown since by nothing but word of mouth, and kept alive throughout solely by means of reader support.

A former US correspondent for the London-based international Catholic weekly The Tablet, he's been a church analyst for The New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NBC, CNN and NPR among other mainstream print and broadcast outlets worldwide.

A native of Philadelphia, Rocco Palmo attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2010, he received a Doctorate of Humane Letters honoris causa from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St Louis.

In 2011, Palmo co-chaired the first Vatican conference on social media, convened by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communications. By appointment of Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap., he's likewise served on the first-ever Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese, whose Church remains his home.